Time-recorder



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. R. ADAMS.

TIME RECORDER.

Patgnted Oct. 21, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. R. ADAMS.

TIME RECORDER.

N0.438*831 Patented 0013.21, 1890.

: i fi t'i iili i ll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY RAYMOND ADAMS, OF MARSEILLES, ILLINOIS.

TIME-RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 438,831, dated October21, 1890.

Application filed March 10, 1890. Serial No. 343258. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY RAYMOND ADAMS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Marseilles, in the county of La Salle and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTime-Recorders, which are fully set forth in the followingspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 represents a plan view of a portion of a time-recordingmechanism embodying my invention, the same being shown inclosed in a boxor case, one end of which is broken away and the hinged cover of whichis thrown up Fig. 2, a bottom plan of the casecover and the mechanismmounted thereon, a portion of the cover being broken away; Fig. 3. asection of the latter, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, with a smallsection of the recordingoyliuder being also shown in connectiontherewith; Fig. 4, a detail section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows on said Fig. 1; Fig 5, alongitudinal vertical section of the recording-cylinder detached; Fig.6, a detail vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 7a similar section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 2.

My invention relates to an apparatus by means of which the exact time atwhich a certain event may be accurately recorded for future reference,and also, if desired, indicated at the time of recording by an audiblesignal.

The apparatus is adapted for use in all establishments employing anumber of persons, for the purpose of recording the precise time atwhich each individual enters and leaves the building or commences andceases work, and also at railway-stations for the purpose of recordingthe exact time at which trains arrive and leave the station, and forother like purposes.

The present invention relates to certain improvements upon the apparatusshown and described in Letters Patent No. 400,283, issued to me March26, 1889, these improvements relating to certain special devices, whilethe general plan of construction remains the same.

I will proceed to describe in detail the mechanism of a recorder inwhich I have embodied my present invention in a practical way, and willthen point out definitelyin the claims the particular improvements whichI believe to be new and wish to protect by Letters Patent.

In the drawings, A represents a suitable case or box, within which theoperating devices are inclosed, and which is provided with a hinged lidor cover A, whichmay be closed down upon the top of the case and lockedin this position, whereby the mechanism may be completely inclosed andsecurely protected from outside interference, except through the regularindicating devices. A clock 13 is set into one side of the case, theclock-case projecting within the latter, as seen in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. The min ute-hand shaft 1) of the clock is extended inwardthrough the clockcase and carries upon its inner end a small pinion b. Alarge gear-wheel G is arranged just over this pinion and in engagementtherewith. This wheel is mounted on a-shaft 0, arranged horizontallyabove the clock-case, and at its outer end niounted on a conical bearinga, fastened to the side of the case A. The inner end of this shaftextends somewhat beyond'the wheel and is provided with a sleeve 0fastened to it and having on its extremity a slight flange c, which isperforated at one point. It will be seen that this shaft is partlysupported by its wheel resting on the pinion b, when the shaft isdisconnected at its inner end. a

In order to steady the shaft claterally and preventdisplacement a guardO is fastened to the side of the case just above the shaft bearings, andis extended inward over the shaft and then bent downward, the bentportion being provided with a fork c, which embraces the shaft, as seenin Fig. 4: of the drawings. This guard, as shown in the drawings, is aflat metallic strip of suitable thickness to provide a stay ofsufficient rigidity. The particular form, however, is immaterial.

The recording-cylinder D is substantially the same as in my priorpatent, with certain exceptions that will now be noted. The entiresurface of the cylinder is grooved by a series of circumferentialgrooves cl, running entirely around the cylinder and parallel to eachother. The record-strip D is applied directly to the surface of thecylinder over these grooves. The head d of the cylinder,

facing the clock or wheel 0, is made of rubber or other non-conductor ofelectricity. The shaft on which the cylinder is mounted is divided, onepart d passing in through the head 01' and the other 01 passing in fromthe opposite head and the two connected within the cylinder by acoupling D of rubber or other electrical non-conductor, the shafts beinginserted in the opposite ends of this coupling, but not permitted totouch, so that they are insulated from each other.

The end shaft 01 has upon its outer end a collardfi'which' is providedwith a narrow flange d", corresponding to that on the sleeve 0 and thiscollar is provided with a small pin d adapted to enter the perforationin the said fl nge. Qtt e eby pr v d g e n f coupling thecylinder-shaftto the shaft-of the wheel 0 at a single fixed point. The outer end ofthe shaft d? projects slightly beyond .the collarand enters the sleeve 0when the two Parts r t b upl d e r, as escribed above. The opposite endshaft (1? is mounted at its outer end upon aconical pivot: pin. E, whichis set in a bracket 6, fastened to the sideof the case, and is mountedso as to] wheel 0.

The indicating-levers F are mounted independently on suitablerods f,which are supported by brackets f depending from theinside of thecover,the latterbeing of some material which is a non-conductor ofelectricity. The supporting-rods f are parallel to each other and to theaxis of the recording-cylin der, and are at such distance from eachother that thelevers extending inward from, each willbringthe points inline just above the cylinder. These indicating-levers are of bell crankshape, one portion being nearly horizontal and terminating in a pointeddownwardbend f The other arm of the levers is about perpendicular, andeach has pivoted to its upper end arod f which extendshorizontallyj'outward toward the respective ends of the cover.

A series of. short tubes G is inserted in the cover and extendeddownward some little distance below the latter when closed. These tubesare to receive the operating keys and, of course, must correspond innumber. with the indicating-levers. They are placed in the cover in anyconvenient arrangement for operation and to reach the levers andaccommodate the locking devices, which will be presentlydescribed. Eachof these tubes is provided with a cross-slot g in the side of the tubenext to the recording-cylinder, and the outer or free ends of the rods fare received in these respective slots so as to project slightly withinthe tubes, as seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings. As the key-tubes arenecessarily at different distances from the indicatfastened at one endto the under side of the cover, from which they are bent downward andinward toward each other until their free ends rest upon the inside ofthe uprightarms f therespe t v i dicati g-l ver I is position the pointsof the indicating-levers are held up just out ofv contact with therecording-strip on the cylinder, the. springs operating to keep themnormally in this. position. j

An operating-key H is applied to each one of the tubes just described.This key is of peculiar construction. Its body is round and of a size toneatly fit the tube in which it is placed. The lower extremity of thekey is conical, as seen at h in Figs. 3 and 6. of the drawings. A shortdistance above, this conical point is a groove h, out around the body ofthe key and having its lower face h?;beveied, while its upper face maybe straight. It will be seen, then, that the lower portion of the keyconsists of a short section h? of the normal size of the key-body andthat at. each end of this section there is a, beveled surface, theinclinations being in opposite directions.

-Above the annular groove described theikeybodyis of normal size, andfrornit extends upward a stem 72.4, to the upper end of which, above thecover, is secured a suitable knob h By means of this knob the keys areraised and loweredin the tubes, and this movement operates the rodsattached to the indicating-levers so as to depress the points of thelatter upon the recording-strip on the cylinder. The relation of theseparts is such that when the knobs are depressed'as far as possible thekeys. will be in such a position that theannular grooves therein will bedirectly opposite the slots 9 in the tubes, so that the entering ends ofthe rods f under the influence of their springs, will, be carried intothese grooves, as seen in Fig. 3, of the drawings. Now, if when in thisposition the key is pulled up, it is evident that the rod fcorresponding thereto,will be pressed outward by the upper bevel,thereby rocking the indicatingrle'ver, to which the rod is attached, inadirection to depress the point toperforate the recording-strip; but assoon as the key is pulled up, so that the straight sectionh passes abovethe end of the rod, the latter will v at once he pushed inward againunderthe operation of thespring, thereby raising the indicating-pointfrom the strip. The key will IIO stand in this elevated position anylength of time desired, and it is obvious that when depressed again theoperating-rod will be thrust outward as before, thereby making a secondrecord. It will be seen, therefore, that a record is made by theindicating-levers at each movement of the key either upward or downward.

The grooves in the recording-cylind er, heretofore described,are for thepurpose of facilitating the operation of the indicating-levers, thepoints of the latter being arranged directly over these grooves, therebyfacilitating the puncture of the strip by the point of the leverandmaking this operation more certain.

It is desirable, of course, to lock the keys in either position to whichthey may be adjusted-that is, in their position of greatest elevation ordepression-as already described, so that when brought into eitheradjustment they may be secured to prevent any subsequent indicatingmovement until unlocked at the required time by the person holding thekey. For the purpose of thus locking the keys a series of bars I isemployed, the bars being arranged transversely of the cover and mountedin keepersi on the under side of the latter, so as to be movable backand forth. They are also arranged one between each two rows of thekey-tubes, as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings. These sliding bars areprovided at one end with slots 2', and a series of bellcrank levers J ispivoted to the cover in such position that one arm j will enter looselythe respective slots in the ends of the bars,while the other j issimilarly connected to a long sliding bar K, which is mounted at rightangles to the bars I in keepers 7r, fastened to the under side of thecover near one edge thereof, and is provided with slots 7: to receivethe ends of the lever-arms j, as described. The sliding bars I are thelocking-bars, and are provided with small elastic pins 71 6 extendingoutward from each side of the respective bars and arranged in pairs, sothat each keytube will be embraced by one pair of pins, as seen in Fig.2 of the drawings, in which the pins of each pair which stand nearest tothe bell-crank levers are designated by the letter i and those of eachpair on the opposite sides of the tubes by the letter 2' The pins in therespective pairs are arranged in different planes, those marked 2 in thedrawings being a little lower than those marked when the cover is closeddown on the box, as seen in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The key-tubes G are provided on one side with short cross-slots g, whichare arranged opposite to the pins 1?, and on the other side of the tubesthere are similar slots 9 which are arranged opposite to the pins 2' Itwill be seen, then, that when the bars I are moved in one direction thepins on one side of the tubes will be brought into their respectiveslots, and that the reverse movement of the bars will bring the otherseries of pins into their respective slots on the other side of thetubes, and at the same time disengage the first-mentioned set of pins.The arrangement of these side slots in the tubes is such that when thekeys are depressed to their fullest extent the slots will be just abovethe upper end of the key-body, and when the keys are raised to theirfullest extent the slots 9 will be just below the upper section of saidkey-body and registering with the annular groove in the body. It will beseen, then, that if when the keys are to be depressed the locking-barsare moved so as to bring the pins 2' into engagement with theirrespective slots, the said pins, being elastic, will pass slightly overthe head of the keys when depressed, and so hold or look them in theirposition, as seen in Fig. 6 of the drawlugs; and if when the keys are tobe raised to their highest point in their tubes the bars are moved inthe opposite direction the pins 1' will be brought into engagementwiththeir respective slots and will spring underneath the upper portionor head of the keys when raised, thereby stopping any depression of thekeys, and so looking them in their elevated position. Now, it is evidentthat the reciprocation of the sliding bar K will give the necessaryreciprocation to the lockingbars I, through the medium of the levers J,to cause the pins to engage with their respective slots on one side orthe other of the tubes and press against the bodies of the keys, as justdescribed, and so by the proper movement of the bar K in the requireddirection the keys may be locked either when elevated or depressed, asmay be required.

In order to give the required reciprocation of the bar K, it is providedwith a projection k on one side thereof about midway of its length, andin this car or projection there is made an elongated slot 76 WVithinthis slot is a small cam L, which is on a short stem or shaft Z, mountedin akeeperl, looped around underneath the bar K, as seen in Fig. 7 ofthe drawings, and fastened to the underside of the cover. On the upperside of the cam there is a square shank or stem Z which proj ects upwardinside of a small tube M, which is set into the top of the cover. Thisstem of the cam is adapted to receive a suitable key, which is kept inthe possession of the timekeeper of the establishment or other personselected for the purpose.

The locking-pins on the bars I constituting each pair, as alreadydescribed, are set a distance apart a little greater than the diameterof the respective key-tubes, so that when set centrally the pins on bothsides of the tube will be free from the latter, and so the keys can beoperated in either direction without locking,whenever this is desired.This is the position of the locking-bars and pins when the cam is at theouter end of the slot, as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and may beconvenient when the case is to opened, or when it is desired to removeone of the key-tubes or any other like purpose; but when it is desiredto use the apparatus for registration the cam is turned by the keyapplied on the outside of the case a quarter-way round in one or theother direction, according to the position of the keys, Whether elevatedor depressed, and this movement will reciprocate the bar K andlocking-bars I'into the proper position to bring one set of the elasticlocking-pins into their respective slots in the tubes, the pins yieldingoutward somewhat as they come in contact with thefull round body of thekeys-that is, the movement of the locking-bars is sufficient to carrythe pins. in beyond this body portion of the keys when releasedtherefrom. Now, whenever a key is raised or depressed, as the case maybe, as

soon as its. full portion passes either above orbelow the respectiveslots in which the pins rest the latter will immediately spring inwardon account of their elasticity, and thereby effectually stopthe keysfrom a movement in the opposite direction, and so look themin theposition in which they are elevated when the record has been made. Thecam when turned in either directionfrom that shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings can pass just a little beyond its center, but cannot be turnedentirely around to the opposite end of the slot, so that there is thusformed. a, dead-lock for the cam to prevent its disarrangement byjarring or other means until its proper key is applied.

A small battery N'is placed within the case, and also a signal-bell O,as in my former patent. The battery is connected up with theindicating-levers by the wires X, as seen in the drawings, and to thesignaling-bell by the wires Y, and the signaling-belli s also connectedup with the recording-cylinder by means of thewire Z. Hence it will beseen that whenever the indicating -levers are brought down into contactwith, the cylinder the circuit will be closed and the signal will besounded; The cylinder is, however, insulated from the clock, as alreadyexplained, so that the latter is protected from the efiect of theelectric current.

The general operation of the apparatus is substantially the same as inmy prior patent, and therefore requires no further elaboration in thepresent case. Reference is made to said patent for any furtherexplanation required. There may be modifications in the construction andarrangement of the devices which are here shown and described, and suchmodifications are contemplated in my invention, so that I do not wish tobe understood as limiting myself to all the specific devices which areherein set forth, and are shown in the drawings.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, isv

1. In a time-recorder, the recording-cylinder, in combination with theindependent indicating-levers, the actuating-rods f, the springs f andoperating-keys adapted to reciprocate the said rods, substantially asand for the purposes specified.

2. The recording-cylinder, in combination with the indicating-1evers F,the actuatingrod f the key-tubes G, and the keys H, arranged in saidtubes and adapted to thrust the rods forward out from the tubes by themovement of the keys either upward or downward, substantially as and forthe purposes specified.

3. In a time-recorder, the indicating-levers F, in combination with theactuating-rods f the tubes G, provided with slots 9,, which receive theends of said rods,,and the operating-keys H, provided with conicalextremities h and grooves it, having their lower-faces h beveled,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. In a time-recorder, the operating-keys H, provided withlocking-grooves,in combination with the key-tubes G, provided with slotsg g on opposite sides of the tubes and corresponding tothe saidlocking-grooves, and the locking-pins 1? 1 adapted to enter through theslotsinto the grooves, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5., The key-tubes G, provided with slots g 9 in combination with theoperating-keys H, the locking-bars I, provided with the pins 2' F, thereciprocating bar K, and the bell-crank levers J, loosely connected tothe bar K and the respective locking-bars, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

6. In atime-recorder, the reciprocatinglocking-bars I, in combinationwith the bell-crank levers J, the reciprocating bar K, provided withslots and the actuating-cam L, arranged to work in the slot It -and. tomove in an are opposed to the arc movement of the ends of the saidcrank-levers connected to the locking-bars, whereby the said, devicesare locked in position by the adjustment of the cam, substantially asand for the purposes specified.

7. In a time-recorder, the recording-cylinder provided with a head ofelectrical non-conducting material, in combination with a dividedcylinder-shaft, a coupling, also an electrical non-conductor, the drivensection of the shaft being connected with the cylinder by the saidinsulating-headatone end and at the other end with the other section oftheshaft by the said insulating-coupling, and a clockwork for drivingsaid shaft, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

HARVEY RAYMOND ADAMS. Witnesses:

J. Q. ADAMS, G. L. S'rmsoN.

